tow hooks

[olblue60@aol.com]

Hi
I am sure that this question has been posted many times before, butttt... ,I recently purchased a 1968 4WD Suburban and a pair of 67- 68 tow hooks. My problem is how do they install? I was told that the reason there is no info. in my assembly manual is because they were dealer installed. There are no factory holes in the frame horn. Can anyone help me out with info or post Pics?
Many thanks!

John

[1969 GMC]

here is a pic I took of my truck...however, mine is a '69 and the '69-'72 towhooks do mount a little differently, I think. I am pretty sure that the hooks mount in the 2 holes that are on the right, but I circled the third because it looks like something was mounted there at one time and I am not sure, as my truck did not come with the hooks attached

also, I do believe hooks are a factory, as well as dealer, installed option. mine are listed on the RPO sheet, option V76. i am not sure abou 67-68 though.

[olblue60@aol.com]

Thanks for the reply Adam
I went out to see the front horn on my truck an I dont have the three holes shown in your pictures. There is however( where you show the hole with the question mark circuled) a short slot in my horns. Maybe that is one in yours too, partally hidden.I have seen pictures of the 72s as compared to my 67-68s an it seems that my hooks have a bit more curve to them. Is there a chance that the mounting holes are the same anyway? anyone with a 67-68 that can help me out? Thanks

John

[olblue60@aol.com]

I recently recieved an email in reply to this topic. He is sending me a template of a frame horn which tow hooks were installed. The pictures that he supplied show that the towhooks were mounted with the points of the hooks to the rear? thats just the opposite of what I would have expected.His truck is a 2WD pickup. does anyone know which way the hooks would have pointed. Does this sound correct? thanks

John

[1969 GMC]

hey John, after looking at some pics of trucks with towhooks, I am sure that the two holes that are next to each other on the frame horn are the ones that the hook is bolted to. here is a crude drawing of how it should look:

[olblue60@aol.com]

Hi Adam
Thanks for the mail. Contrary to what I belived, it seems that the hooks point to the rear.It makes sense that they would function better that way. Because of the curvature being more on the 67-68 hooks, the lower hole in a picture sent to me by the seller of the hooks I bought, is a little more to the front of the truck than the upper hole is. A little different than yours, but I'm getting the Idea now. This fellow is going to send me a template of the holes that I need to drill, but I sure would love to see another picture of a set installed before I drill my frame horns due to the fact that these came off a 2WD.
Thanks for all your help,and thanks to the board for allowing these posts
John

[BLAZERMAN]

I allways figured the 67-68 hooks had the points at the front, I tried to mount a pair on my 68 with them to the rear and there was no way for them to fit unless the bumper was notched. I could see how they would mount to the rear on a 2wd because you dont have the front leaf spring perch to contend with.

[olblue60@aol.com]

Hi Blazerman
I checked out your website.Are all those trucks yours?Beautiful trucks!
I looked through your pictures of the 68 but couldnt make out the hooks very well in the one picture that showed them.I did however look at the pictures that were sent from the seller of the hooks that I purchased of the holes in the horns in his 2WD and the point you made is well taken. No way that they can be mounted pointing to the rear with the 4WD spring purches where they are, and there is certainly enough curvature to hook to, even if they point to the front of the truck. So, I'm still confused. Have you seen any other trucks with the 67-68 hooks installed. I also have found that the hooks were a factory installed option as well as dealer installed, and in 67 the option # was "4V7 6AA-Front Tow Hooks". I also understand what you said about having to notch the bumper to install, with the hook to the rear.Does that seem likly that GM would have done that? There must be someone with the info I need. Thanks for the imput. It keeps me thinking
John

[BLAZERMAN]

Oldblue, yes there all mine and thanks for the compliment, I got rid of the 67 hooks and used a set of the 72 style that both hook the same direction. I have seen 2 trucks with the early hooks and both had them mounted hook outward but cant onfirm that either one was factory. I am sure the factory would not have notched the bumper but that is what would have to be done to mine to have them mounted with the hook to the rear, I have a 72 chassis under the 68 so that may be why, do you know if the spring perchs are in the same position as 69-72s?

Heres a little better pic of the 72 style on the 68

[olblue60@aol.com]

My frame horns are the same as tha ones in the pics that Adam sent (thank you) of his 1969, but without the holes. I cant see any way to mount the hooks, except pointing frontward, if I dont alter the bumper.Your right, there just isnt the room with the 67-68 hooks to do it any other way.

[1969 GMC]

Looking at the 67-8 hooks a little more closely, I see that you could set these up with the points facing forwards. I was confused because if you mounted the 69-72 hooks backwards like that, they wouldn't be good for anything but to make the front of the truck heavier (the rope/chain/whatever wouldn't stay in the eyes of the hooks). I guess I have never noticed this before. Also, my GMC's bumper is notched (you can kinda see it in the above pic) but not by where the hooks would go.